A Blunt Reckoning
by Starshone
Summary: Following the drama of Fiberglass Slipper, yes, read that first, Ruki and Jenrya make up without kissing. Renamon and Terriermon costar. Ruki and Jenrya friendship with established JenryaRyo and onesided RyoRuki waaaaay in the background.


**2 missed calls**

**Call register**  
**Missed calls**  
**Missed 1: Lee Jenrya**  
**Missed 2: Matsuda Takato**

"What the...?"

"**You have: Two. New. Messages. To hear your messages, press one. To delete your messages, press t—**"

"**Received at: Two. Thirty. Four. PM.**"

"_Ruki. Hi. Um, it's Jenrya. Please meet me at the park in the dinosaur 2PM this Saturday. Come alone; yes, even Renamon can't come. Call me back if you can't make that time. Thanks._"

"**Received at: Two. Forty. One. PM.**"

"_Hey, Ruki! When Jen said 'please', he meant 'you'd better'. But momentai, okay? I can assure you he is definitely not plotting your demise. Unless he's just hiding it really well. But hey, I don't think he'd kill you in broad daylight in a public place, he strikes me as the pointy reckoning that will shudder you in the dark of some terrible night type. ...what? O_kay_, Takato, _geeze_, can't you distract him a little longer? I don't know, chalk drawings? Anyway, Ruki. Come to the park and talk to Jen, okay? I'm sick of you guys fighting just because of _Ryo. _Oh yeah, by the way, it's Terriermon here. Bye!_"

"**End of messages. To hear your messages again, press one. To delete your messages, press two. To save your messages, pr—**"

**Call ended  
****Duration: 1.15min**

-

"I don't know, Renamon. Should I?"

The child regards her Tamer coolly. "It would be wise." She hesitates, then: "This feud with your friend has gone on long enough."

"Yeah, I'll give you that one," Ruki admits. "It _is_ getting pretty annoying not talking to Jenrya. I mean, he's..." She struggles for a moment. "The closest thing I have to a best friend, I guess."

She looks up at Renamon, stricken. "I mean, my _human_ best friend, because you're—" Ruki _thinks_ Renamon is _smirking_. "You're like my big sister."

The maybe-smirk fades, and Renamon's blue eyes narrow. Ruki panics some more. "I mean..."

Why is she bothering? Renamon _always_ knows what she means. She falls silent.

They both start in surprise when Renamon hugs her, and slowly Ruki hugs her back.

For a moment or two they sit like that in silence, then Ruki reluctantly draws away. "I'd better call him back."

**Lee Jenrya**  
**Call**

"_Ruki?_"

She hadn't expected him to pick up.

**Call ended  
****Duration: 3sec**

-

Experience has been a valuable teacher: The Lee family usually has dinner around six in the evening. Ruki tries again.

**Lee Jenrya  
****Call**

"_Hey, you've reached Lee Jenrya. Sadly I can't come to the phone right now, so please leave your name, number, and message after the beep. Thanks!_"

Ruki waits.

"_Nei hou, ngo kiu tso Li Jiangliang._"

She'd forgotten about Jenrya's irritatingly bilingual voicemail message. His excuse for it was something about his myriad Chinese cousins occasionally calling. She's heard it enough times to vaguely know the characters, but she doesn't know how it all fits together.

"_Ngo yi ka um dak han; ceng nei hai du sheng zi hao, lao dai nei go seng meng, din hua ho ma kap hau sun. Do tse!_"

"Jenrya, your voicemail message is as annoying as ever."

In retrospective, possibly not the best start.

"Sorry. It's Ruki, in case you hadn't guessed. Yeah, I'll meet you at the dinosaur. I'm assuming I don't need my cards. See you then."

**Call ended  
****Duration: 44sec**

-

When she enters the dinosaur, Jenrya is reading yet another Sherlock Holmes translation, but something's a little different. Ruki takes a moment to figure out what it is, then grins. "Nice glasses."

Jenrya almost jumps, then, realizing who it is, he meets her eyes and smiles a bit. "I don't know, I think they make me look nerdy. They're just for reading."

Ruki smirks. "I _told_ you you spend too long on the computer."

"Ah, but my optometrist told me I'm ever so slightly hyperopic." He closes and pockets the book. Ruki is, as always, amazed by how deep those pockets are. "So, how are you, lucky girl with twenty-twenty vision?"

"Just peachy," Ruki deadpans, "but I know you didn't call me here for small talk."

The boy removes his glasses, blinking at her for a moment as his eyes re-adjust. "Right again. Actually, I wanted to apologize."

She stares. "What for? If anyone should be apologizing, it's me."

Tapping his cast with two fingers, Jenrya shrugs. "For getting on your back about Ryo. It wasn't fair of me to mock you about liking him."

"It wasn't fair of _me_ to—"

"To steal my boyfriend?" smirks Jenrya.

"To take advantage of your situation because I'm in love with your boyfriend," she goes on.

Jenrya chuckles, low in his throat. "We've been real idiots about this, haven't we."

"And we don't even wear goggles." sighs Ruki.

"Play nicely," the boy grins. "Seriously, we've been fighting like a pair of..." He stops, stricken.

"Like a pair of girls?" Ruki laughs, and it's genuine. "You _can_ say it."

His laugh is more relieved. "Wasn't sure. Look, I'm sorry I was—"

Ruki interrupts him. "I'm sorry I was such a bitch."

"You're forgiven...but I'm not about to forget this any time soon."

"Yeah, fair enough."

Jenrya extends a hand. "Let's never let a boy come between us again."

She takes it, and they shake. "Never. Even if it's Ryo. How _is_ Ryo, anyway? I take it you know he 'dumped' me, he seemed pretty cut up about you not talking to him."

"Yeah." Then he smiles, and it's halfway to the stupid grin Takato gets talking about Juri. "Sent him a few stupid e-mails, he rang me in Okinawa and it was awkward, avoided him some more, and then _Terriermon_ went behind my back to get him up to Shinjuku, and...it's all better now. He's great."

"You're lucky," Ruki says without thinking, but without bitterness either.

They lapse into easy silence. It hasn't been this comfortable between them for ages.

"How was Okinawa? Hopefully not as eventful as last summer?"

"Pretty good. It was nice to get away from everything, and just hang out with Takato and the Digimon, and Shuri Castle was _amazing_, all the— sorry, I keep forgetting you hate history." Jenrya laughs, embarrassed. "The weirdest part was, Takato's cousin Kai, do you remember him from last year?" Ruki shrugs. "Well, he hit on me."

She smirks. "I'm not surprised."

But Jenrya is, especially by her reaction. Ruki tries again. "I mean, if you weren't—"

"Gay?" Jenrya supplies, smirking.

"So obviously not my type," Ruki continues, ignoring him, "I'd probably have a doomed crush on you."

Jenrya grins. "What a pity we have exactly the same type."

"Yeah: Obnoxious."

They laugh. "He's not _that_ bad," Jenrya smiles.

"I know."

**Incoming call  
****Mom**

"Nice ring tone," he smirks. "Utada Hikaru?"

"Mom set it," Ruki groans. "Mom?"

"_Ruki, honey! My photoshoot just ended, and I am _famished_! Would you like to come out for a late lunch with me?_"

"I've already eaten," she snaps.

Then her stomach rumbles.

Jenrya laughs. "Your stomach suggests otherwise."

"Actually, Mom, on second thoughts..."

"_Great! I'll meet you at the food court, then! See you there!_"

**Call ended  
****Duration: 15sec**

Ruki's had a bit of a growth spurt lately, so getting out of the dinosaur isn't as easy as it used to be, and it's the same for Jenrya. "We have really got to come up with a better meeting place," he concedes.

"Up a tree?" Ruki suggests, jabbing at his cast, and they laugh. "I'm having a late lunch with my mom. Guess I'll be seeing you."

Jenrya offers an arm. "Might I escort you there? A young woman like yourself all alone on the city streets..."

"It's broad daylight." Ruki rolls her eyes, but she takes his arm anyway.

-

**Akiyama Ryo  
****Call**

"_If you're looking for Akiyama Ryo, you've got the wrong number. Sorry!_"

"Ryo, it's Ruki. I hope you know that the high voice and the terrible Russian accent aren't fooling _anyone_. Anyway, I just called because your Cinderella didn't kill me today and I'm feeling pretty grateful, so I just thought I'd let you know that if you hurt him in any way, I will _personally_ kick your ass, and not in the 'fun' way, either, you freak. That's it, really. L— never mind."

**Call ended  
****Duration: 25sec**


End file.
